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Photo Credit: Patrick Gorski– USA TODAY Sports |
CHICAGO— On a peak summer
day outdoors, the indoors proved to be as warm as Big Ten media days kicked off
at the Chicago Marriott Magnificent Mile with an annual press conference from league
commissioner Jim Delany.
Delany acknowledged the
passing of former SEC commissioner Mike Slive, coach and administrator C.M.
Newton and former Duke coach and commissioner Vic Bubas, who were longtime
friends and mentors for him for over 40 years.
Attendance declines have
plagued the majority of Football Bowl Subdivision teams this decade, but Delany revealed that the Big Ten was the only one of the power five conferences to increase in-stadium attendance
last season.
Delany mentioned how the Big
Ten played a significant factor in ratings last season across its television partners— Fox, ESPN/ABC and BTN.
Five Big Ten teams ranked in
the top 21 of the final College Football Playoff rankings last season, more than any
other power five conference— No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 9 Penn
State, No. 16 Michigan State and No. 21 Northwestern, to go along with a 7-1
bowl record.
Big Ten East and West division differences with records:
Since the Big Ten went into
its current regional divisional format in the 2014 season, the imbalance between
the East and West divisions have been a revolving topic. National brands like
Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State have been in the East and
have enjoyed the most success in the league as they represented all 14 top 10
finishes, while the West has been dominated by Wisconsin for the most part, but
have been 0-4 in the Big Ten title game since realignment.
Delany cited there has not
been enough of a sample size to judge on whether or not an imbalance exists.
Shutout of the CFP and the nine-game league schedule:
Since going to a nine-game
schedule in 2016, The Big Ten has not made the College Football Playoff, but
Delany believes in the current format and continuous build of overall strength
of schedule will help long-term.
Season Two of Friday night Big Ten conference games:
The first full season of
Friday night Big Ten conference games was a success for the participating schools in 2017 and will
continue in 2018 with Penn State at Illinois (Sept. 21) and Indiana at
Minnesota (Oct. 26). For the foreseeable future, Delany expects the Big Ten to
have two Friday night conference games outside of Labor Day and Thanksgiving weekends, working with the participating colleges and potential area high schools that
could be affected.
Social Media:
Follow Geno Green on Twitter @TheGenoGreen.
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